Are you UNDER the WEATHER?

By Francesca Gentille 1/11/06

We often hear that phrase but what does it mean?

Whether the weather is delicious or disastrous being UNDER it means that we are not fully able to appreciate it, nor interact fully with life. We feel BAD.

For many of us the holidays, and/or the weeks just after the holidays, can be some of the most "under the weather" times of the year. We're missing the sun and the vitamin D that it provides to keep us healthy. We may have over indulged in sugars, starches or alcohols. We may have over indulged in spending or depression, social functions or lack there of. We may have given out or given up more than we took in.

Often we can head into January with good intentions yet depleted finances, emotions, or energy.
As far as the rotation of the sun goes in the Northern Hemisphere, we are almost 3 weeks past Mid-Winter Solstice (the longest night of the year), and we've got over 2 months to go until Spring Equinox (when day and night are equal and we really start to notice the suns return).

So what do we do to nourish our bodies, minds and spirits when the days are short, the nights long, and the weather often gloomy to frigid?

I've often noticed that January and February can be my most challenging months emotionally and physically. Yet from this dark place a whole new delicious year can be birthed, if I encourage it.

Some of my favorite emotional, spiritual, physical & sexual practices
include:

EMOTIONALLY:
- Be gentle with my own spirit. Have compassion for the let down that often comes at this time OR for the renewed sense of determination to create something different.

- Be gentle with the spirits of others. Understand that they are also human, fragile, imperfect, confused. Most often hurtful actions come out of their own pain.

- Jot down a few notes in the following categories. WHAT I AM RELEASING - - - WHAT I AM DESIRING - - - WHAT DO I LOVE ABOUT ME and/or MY LIFE - - - WHAT ISN'T WORKING ABOUT ME and/or MY LIFE

- Commit to taking at least one step to improve what is not working.

- Commit to taking at least one deep breath to celebrate what is working.

- Read what inspires. I love reading biographies and autobiographies. They touch me and inspire me to live a full life of my soul. On the bedside table now "Dorothy Day - The founder of the Catholic Worker Organization,"
"Damanhur" and "Sacred Money."

- Go to see a delicious movie. Something moving and stirring. Exciting or passionate. My favorites thus far "Casanova" and "Pride & Prejudice."

PHYSICALLY:

- VITAMINS: Replenish or newly get, vitamins/supplements/medicinal
teas. Each body type, age and stress level gets depleted in key nutrients.
In today’s world the nutrient value of the food we eat is DOWN at least 50 % from 50 years ago. We NEED supplements. As an O Positive Blood Type, I flourish with more protein. Like 40% of the population, I have wheat allergies. As a woman over 40, I am in perimenopause and benefit from black cohosh, dong quai, yams. As a modern person under stress, I thrive when taking a good broad range B Vitamin. Men also go through Andropause/Viropause. After our 20’s our bodies start to slow down, our glands shrink and produce less of what we need. It takes something to stay optimally healthy. For a fun, easy read, I recommend Suzanne Somers book “The Sexy Years” for any age group. Great information!

- PHYSICAL ACTIVITY: I’m allergic to “exercise” but I love dancing
and making love (more about that later). Keeping endorphins high and the body flexible can take any form we love. . . long walks, long walks shopping, dancing, dancing in the kitchen, wearing weights while doing housework, stretching, sitting on an “exercise ball” at the computer, hiking, biking, skipping, shaking, yoga. My intention is always to have it be fun and interwoven with the things I love/like or have to do (like errands).

SPIRITUALLY:

- CONTRIBUTION: I am enlivened when I am contributing to the world
being a better world. Whether it’s giving to the poor, writing an essay of support, coaching, listening to a friend, praying, or going through my house to find things to give away. . . there is something that moves the flow of energy when I contribute.

- MY MISSION: I believe that everyone has a mission. Everyone has a
reason why their soul was born at this time. Everyone has something precious inside them that can help to heal the world and bring more love into it.
When I take workshops, get coaching, go on retreat, write in order to get clear about my mission/vision/life purpose, I am energized. This clarity brings renewed joy into my life. My mission? To open hearts and minds to love (for themselves, others, the world, the children, their partners, their enemies etc). Each of has unique gifts, talents, trainings, wounds and experiences that allow us to express our mission.

- QUALITY TIME: Each day I have 24 hours. Much of it can be spent
rushing from thing to thing. OR mindlessly performing some “have to” task. I find this depleting. I am replenished through quality time with me, my son, my beloved, with you. For me, Quality Time is about slowing down, releasing an agenda, treasuring the moment, opening to the flow, being Here NOW. Some call it Tantra Time. It is Spirit Time whether alone, with one or a group.

SEXUALITY:

- To me, sex can be a nourishing, healing, integrative, quality
time act. It can be an emotionally connective act. It can be a physically energizing act. It can be a good time. OR it can be rushed, superficial, usury, needy, hurtful, manipulative, controlling, and/or vampiric act. I define sex as any time I am focusing on building states of arousal (often but not always with an intention of release/orgasm/ejaculation) for me or another or others. It is still sex if “nothing happened”, if I wasn’t consciously aware of my intentions, or if I was in an altered state.

- As a Nutritive Practice sex is restorative, energizing, healing
and connective when I consciously choose to bring care, consideration, kindness, appreciation, and healing (or sacred intention) into my energy and touch. Sacred Sex can be with me or another or others. Sacred Sex can take 2 minutes, 2 hours or two days. It’s not about quantity of time. It is about quality of intention. (Although, I do find it additive to have times when I have more spacious time to be present to my own precious body or the precious body of another.) When I practice intentionally, caring, wholly present sexuality. YUM! I am revitalized on so many levels. I recommend reading up on Taoist Sexuality for more information on the healing powers of sexuality. Also taking courses at www.BodyElectric.org and www.CelebrationsOfLove.com

Well, time to rush off to work and yet remind myself to breathe in what I love about life. Thank you for taking the time to ruminate with me on how to bring more internal light into the dark time of the year. I’d love to hear about your practices that support healing, spirit, the sacred, health in all parts of your life.

Blessings always,
Francesca